Stories

Story·Charlotte Merrick, age 12 — A lonely commuter observes fleeting human connections on the M31 bus, finding meaning in strangers' brief interactions while questioning their own isolation.

Story·Jordan Dunaway-Barlow, age 13 — During a thunderstorm, a Native American girl rescues a cardinal trapped in a flooding snake hole, names him Fire, and reluctantly releases him at dawn.

Story·Kathryn Malnight, age 11 — A girl mourns her lost dog Dixon, taken from her family, holding onto hope that he lives somewhere and remembers being loved.

Story·Jaylen Wang, age 10 — A small new kid at school finds belonging when his unlikely friend, a football player, invites him to join the game and helps him up after a hard tackle.

Story·Ella Staats, age 10 — A girl sent to live with grandparents in Maine because her family has eight children finds a stray kitten on the beach and realizes she hasn't been abandoned after all.

Story·Brooke Antoine, age 13 — A girl sneaks out at night to the boardwalk, discovers a manatee tangled in a net, rescues it with her parents' help, and later travels to Florida to release it.

Story·Kimberly Vance, age 10 — A ten-year-old mariachi violinist battles stage fright before performing a Spanish love song solo at the International Mariachi Conference in Tucson.

Story·Jamie Geng, age 11 — A family hikes through scorching heat to a waterfall, where the narrator climbs rocks and discovers a breathtaking view of the shimmering river below.

Story·Emily Grant, age 13 — A girl watches wild horses from behind a rock, naming each one and calling them her 'silent friends' who don't know she exists.

Story·Alison Lanza, age 12 — Three sisters reluctantly move to a new house, discover a magical sphere that grants three wishes, and use them to find their lost dog and build a treehouse.